BABSON PARK, Fla. (March 27, 2019) – In what was the Warriors' final regular season game of their 2019 campaign, the Webber International University men's volleyball team hosted Crooked Lake rival Warner University inside the Sabbagh Athletic Center on Wednesday night, taking down the rival Royals for the first time in Webber's short history as a varsity NAIA program. In the end, Webber won it in five sets, 3-2 (25-18, 18-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-12).

After Warner won the second set by the same score the Warriors took the opening set (25-18) and then the Royals won the fourth by the same score Webber won the third (25-22), the fifth and final set started off in the Warriors' favor as back-to-back kills by Zachary Ayala made it 4-1 Webber.

Webber then led 6-2 on a Royals' attack error and then found itself ahead 9-4 after back-to-back attack errors by Warner.

With Webber then up 10-5 after the fourth attack error in the early going of the fifth set by Warner's Jose Morales, the Royals rattled off three straight points to get within two at 10-8 before the Warriors responded with three points of their own to make it 13-8.

A kill by Luke Taffer made it 14-9 Warriors before Warner scored three in a row again to draw within two points and put a slight scare into the home crowd, but the Warriors rose to the occasion as a another kill by Ayala on the assist from Justin Beecher was all she wrote.

"Tonight was a great team effort, but Zach played out of his mind as well," spoke first year head coach Eric Praetorius. "All of our players contributed, and everyone mattered. For four of the five sets, we controlled the serving line. Our defense really stepped up when we need it, and our setters controlled the fifth set. Every decision from them was a good one."

In the kill's column, Taffer led the Warriors with 13 while Ayala was next by tying his season-high with 12 kills and adding a strong .375 attack percentage. Former high school teammates Liam Gilchrist and Orlando Fletcher both added seven kills as well.

Dishing out the assists on the evening were Beecher with a season-high 25 assists and Tim Rouch Jr. with 15.

Taffer also added a match-high four service aces and was one of five Warriors with four or more digs as he and Christian Alvarez-Rivero each had four, Gilchrist had seven digs, Rouch Jr. was one dig away from his first career double-double with nine and Steven Bartlett led the way with 11 digs. Alvarez-Rivero also led both teams with a career-high five blocks while Taffer and Fletcher each had three to add to the Warriors' stellar defensive effort all the way around.

Webber will now enter the postseason with a record of 7-10 overall and 6-7 in the Mid-South Conference while Warner finishes its regular season 6-7 overall and in the league.

Next up for the Warriors will be the first ever Mid-South Conference Men's Volleyball Tournament, which will be held from Thursday, April 4, until Saturday, April 6, at the Bowling Green High School in Bowling Green, Kentucky, as Webber looks to take advantage of its current momentum.